Julie's Hell

Julie was a sweet girl. She just had gotten wrapped up in something. In her senior year of high school, Julie's friends had concocted a plot to celebrate the end of the year. The prank ended with the principal and a few students slipping on a bag of marbles they released into the hallways. It was never meant to be anything serious, but a few students were minorly injured. As was the principal's pride, Julie surmised. And this, she thought, was more to the point.

In something of an overreaction, the principal had expelled all four students involved. Julie was perhaps the least involved of the four, but nevertheless suffered the same fate. Julie's parents were in quite an upset over the incident. She hadn't had behavioral problems before, not like this anyway. And though her parents were usually not overly strict, they had a solemn, anxious attitude that was sent into overdrive at the thought that their darling girl was headed down a dangerous (perhaps criminal!) path.

Their decision to send Julie away was impulsive and fear-driven. But she had no say in the matter, and in what seemed like no time at all, Julie found herself on a train to Saint Irene's Institution of Post-Secondary Education. The school specialized in offering a corrective path forward for troubled 18-20 year old students who failed to graduate from high school. Saint Irene's had a ghastly reputation for intense discipline and high expectations. It felt like being sent to jail. There were no phones at Saint Irene's, except for the ones at the front office. In fact, students were barely allowed any contact with the outside world at all. Worst of all, Julie heard that corporal punishment was used liberally and frequently. She wasn't sure of the details but just the thought of it was so infuriating, humiliating.

Julie felt small and scared on her journey to the Saint Irene's. When she arrived, she saw that the school looked like it sounded. Austere, grand stone stared into her, pronouncing its formality, its accolades and standards. It looked like a church she thought.

Her check-in process was not so bad. The staff was friendly. They did remind her that this was a very strict school, and there would be no funny business. This was a time to study and get back on track. Julie was given a thick student handbook and advised to read it carefully.

Before long she soon found herself settled in and feeling a bit more relaxed. She even made a friend in trigonometry, Tina. One fateful day, Tina said something that would mark the beginning of Julie's descent into hell. It was study hall, and Tina and Julie were both struggling to understand inverse trigonometric functions.

"We don't have time for this," Tina lamented. "Look, Gregory isn't by his desk. He's at the top of the class. Walk past and tell me what he's got for number 14."

Julie hesitated. She truly wasn't a rule breaker, but she did need a friend in a place like this. Maybe this was an opportunity to earn Tina's trust. One glance couldn't hurt she thought.

Tina egged her on.

"Come on. Just pretend you are going to the bathroom."

Julie nodded and walked past Gregory's desk glancing at number 14. She paused as long as she could without seeming suspicious, trying to memorize what he'd written down. Then, she went to the bathroom. When she returned, Tina was gone. She hoped Tina would return soon, because there was only a few minutes left before the period ended, and the assignment was due immediately afterward.

Julie wrote down what she remembered from Gregory's paper. By the time she finished, the bell rang, and she went to class, still wondering what happened to Tina.

Finally, Tina arrived at Trigonometry with 30 seconds before the start of the period. Tina motioned for Julie to come over, but Julie shook head communicating that it was too late to share the answer discretely.

Julie turned in her assignment, and things went on as normal for a while. Apparently, Tina had left to discuss Rachel's new crush or something.

The next day in homeroom, Ms. Chitiwic stopped Julie at the door, and handed her a small orange piece of paper.

"Principal Stone would like to see you." Principal Stone was actually one of the Vice Principals, but apparently they were all called Principal so-and-so. Julie immediately felt a flutter of fear at being called away. Could this somehow be about the trigonometry assignment? Ms. Chitiwic sounded a bit grim, but there was no way of knowing.

"Straight away." Ms. Chitiwic said with a bit more force, gesturing for Julie to leave.

As she walked down the halls, butterflies in her stomach, she finally thought to look at the orange slip she was holding. It read:

PUNISHMENT REQUESTED

Tuesday, the 2nd of September

Julie Stappording

To be handled by: Principal Stone

Her heart sank. Punishment? For what?

After what seemed like an age, Julie arrived at the front office. She walked in and looked around. She found a secretary at the front desk, and said "I was told Principle Stone wants to see me."

The secretary looked at her with a cold, blank expression and gestured for the orange slip. Julie handed it over with mild reluctance.

"Wait over there. I'll let you know when he is ready for you." The secretary motioned to a line of chairs up against a wall.

Julie sat and waited, wondering what would happen next.

After another long passage of time, the Secretary called "Julie?" as if having forgotten her face already.

Julie stood up.

"Okay sweetie," the secretary said with a bit more warmth in her voice. "Go down this hall and knock on the third door to your left." Somehow the secretary's encouraging tone was not comforting. Instead, it gave Julie the impression that the secretary pitied her situation and was sorry for what was coming.

Julie found the door and knocked.

"Come in." Said a low, muffled voice.

"Ah Julie. Come sit." Principal Stone seemed much more inviting than the secretary, and Julie relaxed ever so slightly.

"How are you enjoying Saint Irene?"

"I'm getting along very well, sir."

"Good, good. Making friends?"

Julie paused to look up at the man. He was a large man, tall with broad shoulders. He was standing behind an equally large oak desk. The office was warm, a bit like a library.

"A few." She managed to reply.

"Well, Julie. I don't like to begin a new relationship with a student this way, but it seems I've received a troubling report about your trigonometry assignment yesterday."

Julie heart sank a second time. How did he know? How could he know anything about that? She looked up at Principal Stone with anxiety.

"Do you know what I'm talking about Julie?"

"No, sir." She said quietly.

"I see." He paused and looked at Julie sternly.

"Well, I guess I'll have to lay it out for you then," he said sounding disappointed.

"Your trigonometry paper was frankly atrocious. The only problem you managed successfully was the last one, number 14. We need to see better work from you in the future."

Julie felt a sigh of relief internally, though tried not to show it. Maybe, this was just because her paper was bad, not because she had copied from Gregory.

"Now, a minor punishment would be in order for such careless work, Julie. But there is another matter."

Julie's anxiety began to rise again.

The principal opened a drawer and produced Julie's assignment. He handed Julie the paper, which was full of corrections in red ink.

"Problem 14. Your success story. You've written 4, here and here," he pointed.

"Now that term should be the variable 'q', wouldn't you agree?"

"Y-yes, sir." Julie said without thinking.

"Why would you have written that Julie?"

"I don't know, sir. I must have just made a mistake."

"You meant to write 'q', but you wrote 4 instead?"

"Yes, sir."

"I have to say, it's a bit of a strange mistake. Especially, considering that you arrive at the correct answer, which would be impossible laying out the equation as you did."

Julie was quiet, staring at the floor.

"Well, I wouldn't do anything drastic on a hunch, but then there's this." Principle stone pushed a button on a remote, and, to Julie's horror, a video of Julie's study hall appear on a TV behind the principal's desk. It showed Julie walking over to Gregory's desk and peering at it more obviously than she imagined.

"I took the liberty of glancing at Gregory's paper. Not only did Gregory solve number 14 correctly, which is unsurprising, after all he is at the top of his class, but he also did something most of the other students did not. He chose to write his variable with a lower case "q," which could look a bit like a 4, to rushed, unwelcome eyes."

Principal Stone stared piercingly.

"It will be better for you if you admit it now. Did you cheat on your assignment Julie?"

Julie froze in an extended and explosively still panic.

"Y-y-yes, s-sir." She almost sobbed.

"I'm glad you told me at this point, but unfortunately this does require a serious intervention. Cheating is no light matter at Saint Irene."

Julie nodded.

"You'll have to be punished, of course."

She wondered if he meant that she would be subjected to the corporal punishment that she had been so afraid of.

"Because you are a new student, you'll have to return for a preparatory meeting. You can schedule your meeting with Ms. Sanders at the front desk, and we will continue this discussion then. You are dismissed."

Julie was surprised and confused, but left to schedule her meeting as directed. Ms. Sanders informed her that she could attend the meeting tomorrow during lunch. She was glad there was a meeting tomorrow so she wouldn't have to wait long to get this over with. Why did she need to go to a "preparatory meeting" anyway? What would happen after that?

She arrived at the meeting the next day to find that she would be with four other girls that apparently were also going to be punished for some misdeed.

They were gathered in a classroom when Principal Stone entered and motioned for them to become quiet. He began suddenly in his metered, formal tone.

"Saint Irene takes the issue of discipline very seriously. I assume you have all read your handbooks."

Julie realized that she hadn't even glanced inside yet.

"Our punishments may seem cruel and unusual to some, but they are effective at returning those who stray to a righteous path. You might want to protest against what I'm going to tell you today, but I assure you that the sooner you learn to cooperate, the sooner you can begin to create a reasonable life for yourself here at this institution. Protesting will not change your situation. You are students of this school and these are the rules. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir," the girls murmured sullenly.

"First, know that your performance during a punishment will determine how things proceed going forward. And that starts in this classroom today. Disobedience during punishment will lead to further and more intense punishment. Your cooperation is essential, and I mean this for your own sake."

Julie felt an unease and confusion. Are students often disobedient during punishment? What did that even mean?

"You all know by now that Saint Irene uses corporal punishment as its main form of discipline. Mild issues are addressed with a hand spanking or perhaps the strap. More severe issues are handled with the paddle or the cane. While punishment is generally delivered to the buttocks, other areas of the body may be used as an administrator sees fit."

Julie hung on the Principal's words. Corporal punishment was not just an option. It was their main form of discipline.

"When you are being punished, there are several rules that must be obeyed. As I said earlier, failure to obey these rules will result in further punishment. In the case of non-compliance, at the administrator's discretion the stroke may be repeated, the punishment may be started from the beginning, and additional punishments may be added.

1. Always address the official administering the punishment as "sir," as a sign of respect.

2. The administrator may require you to repeat a phrase after being hit. If you are directed to do so, you must repeat the phrase word for word.

3. The administrator will tell you what position to maintain. You must be perfectly still in this position during your punishment. This is for your safety, as we do not want you to be hit in an unintended way. If you are standing during your punishment, your arms should be folded behind your back unless directed otherwise.

4. Finally, you may wear whatever you want within the rules of the dress code to your punishment. If you are to be spanked with the hand or an implement, your skirt will be lifted. Generally, the punishment will be given over your underwear. If the administrator feels that your underwear excessively covers the skin, they may require you to remove it. We maintain these rules, because girls in the past have tried to lessen their punishments by wearing thick or cushioned clothing. To be fair, we require that punishments are done with the hand or implement on the skin or perhaps on underwear that is thin, and not in the way of the strokes. I understand that you may find this embarrassing, but frankly punishment should be embarrassing. You have forsaken your pride by breaking the rules of this great institution.

Now, I'm sure you are all wondering how you will be punished. So, I'll be calling you each into my office one at a time. I will tell you in private what you should expect.

Julie had to wait for a few other girls, but eventually was called in to Principal Stone's office.

"Please, be seated." He seemed a bit more serious this time.

"Julie, cheating is a very serious offense. Normally, we try to give second chances to new students, but in this case I cannot. Your punishment will be a hand spanking, followed by three strokes with the paddle. This is actually the minimum I can award for such a serious offense."

Julie's frozen panic was returning.

"I also will require you to do something else."

What more could happen because of this, Julie thought.

"Cheating from Gregory without his knowledge is like stealing from Gregory. It is an offense against him, as well as against the school. If the administration had made some mistake, it is possible that Gregory could have been falsely accused of helping you to cheat. So, you put Gregory's scholastic career at risk too by doing this. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir."

"Therefore, as a symbol of just retribution, it is right that Gregory should witness your punishment. Even be part of it in some way, to see that the wrong committed against him is righted."

Julie looked horrified.

"Considering this, I will require you to speak with Gregory and let him know that his presence is requested at your punishment. You must let him know today so that he has adequate time to arrange his schedule."

Julie didn't know what to say. She was in shock, and not really knowing how to protest in that moment, she left in a daze.

It was perhaps ten minutes later that the reality set in. She had to talk to Gregory, this boy she didn't know at all, and invite him to watch her be spanked. Yes, spanked. And then paddled. And she had to do it today. It then suddenly occurred to her that she didn't even know how to find Gregory. She had already been to trigonometry, and that was her one class with Gregory.

Julie realized her only hope was to ask Tina. They shared an English class in seventh period. By some miracle, Tina's friend Susan knew where Gregory would be after seventh period. Julie managed to evade the topic of her punishment and act her way through some light teasing about finding Gregory attractive.

Then came the moment of truth, she spotted Gregory and forced her limbs to approach.

"Gre-Gregory," she said too quietly. She had not caught his attention.

"Gregory," she said more strongly. The boy turned, revealing a handsome face decorated with brown hair.

"You um... don't know me I guess, but I need to ask you something kinda weird. I uhh... Well, I'm being punished. I was caught cheating, and I have to ask you to... to witness... my spanking."

"Oh wow," Gregory responded with more kindness than she expected. "I'm sorry you are being punished. Why does the Principal want me to come though?"

"You're not... in trouble or anything. It's just that... the paper I copied off of... was yours. So, they said..." Julie trailed off.

"I wouldn't have known!" Gregory responded with a little too much cheeriness.

"Um, when?" Gregory lowered his tone.

"4 o'clock tomorrow."

"Okay, I'll be there."

Julie sighed that it was over, but somehow immediately began to feel that the true embarrassment had just begun. Now, the school knew of her crime and of her punishment.

When Julie arrived in the front office the next day, it was the same routine. Talk to Ms. Sanders as she greets you coldly, wait in the chair, knock on the big door, and enter that big office.

To her surprise, Gregory was already in the room when she arrived.

"Welcome Julie. We were just discussing how we handle situations like this at Saint Irene." Principal Stone said in his polite and too friendly voice.

"Have you ever been spanked or paddled at school before Julie?"

"No, sir."

"Well, there's a first for everything I suppose."

"Okay Julie, here's how this is going to work. Once I put you into the proper position, I'm going to spank you for three minutes. During that time, I want you to be as still and quiet as possible. I will give you a moment to recover, and then we will move on to the paddling. For the paddling, I will require you to count the strokes and repeat the phrase "Thank you, sir. May I please have another, sir?" You do not have to ask for another on your last stroke. Do you understand?"

Julie slowly took in the horror of it, and knowing that protesting would do nothing to save her, she demurely said "Yes, sir."

"Now, please grab that stool and place it about a foot in front of the desk." The principal motioned toward a wooden stool with a flat top, slightly taller than the height of the desk.

Julie was a bit confused but did as she was told.

"Now, kneel on the stool and place your elbows on the desk."

Julie kneeled on the stool and bent over the desk with her forearms against the wood of the desk.

"Julie. I said to place your elbows on the desk, that means only your elbows. Raise your hands up, please. You need to listen carefully."

The Principal's meaning slowly sank in. He meant for her to support all of her weight on just her knees and elbows against hard wood. This was part of the punishment.

"I'm sorry, sir."

Julie raised her forearms up off the desk, and the discomfort began. She wondered how long he would keep in her this position and if she would be able to hold it. She knew that if she could not, there would be consequences.

"Good. Now, let's see about you clothing." Said the Principal as he raised Julie's skirt.

"Hmmm. These won't do. Your underwear covers your entire bottom. I'll need to take them down."

"No, please sir. Don't." Cried Julie impulsively. As soon as the words escaped, she regretted it.

"Do not contradict me young lady." The principal said authoritatively.

"I could do worse than remove your underwear if need be. Perhaps, you'd like me to take away the rest of your clothes?"

'Can he even do that?' Julie thought. She shuttered thinking about Gregory, who was still sitting silently in a chair over to the side, watching this unfold.

Apparently, the Principal had thought of Gregory at that moment as well.

"Gregory, you are coming of age soon. And it will soon be your responsibility to manage a household, including the discipline of your wife and children."